Saturday Slumgullion

The 14th Annual CHIRP Record Fair And Other Delights, a benefit for CHIRP - Chicago Independent Radio Project, takes place next Saturday, April 9 at the Local 130 Plumbers Union Hall at 1340 W. Washington in Chicago. Loads of vendors will be on hand, offering an amazing selection of records, CDs, DVDs, and posters. Last year, I bought an official Graham Nash poster for his Earth And Sky album, and previous CHIRP acquisitions include an LP by the Chicago band Screams and a Hollies live performance DVD. Admission from 10:AM to 6:00 PM is $7; early admission from 8:00 to 10:00 AM costs $25, with readmission allowed all day.

So it’s time for a proper Slumgullion after yesterday’s April Fool’s post about Cheap Trick performing with The Romantics and The Bangles on the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Some of the things I wrote yesterday were true, such as Cheap Trick having a new album out called Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello; they had a show at Metro last night; and they are being inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next week. Also, a big thanks to International Pop Overthrow CFO/Founder David Bash for being a good sport about the entirely made-up quote I attributed to him in the post. Bash will be bringing IPO to Chicago from April 14 to April 23. Look for more IPO - Chicago coverage here as the fest gets closer.

I wasn’t able to make it out to Metro last night, but judging from the journalist Bob Gendron’s online Chicago Tribune review and Facebook posts from local musicians like Lou Galassini, Mike Mazza, and Mike Vanderbilt, it was a great show. Earlier yesterday, Cheap Trick made an in-store appearance at the Reckless Records location on Milwaukee Avenue.

Singer-songwriter Daphne Willis returns to her original hometown of Chicago next Thursday for a gig at Martyrs’ on Lincoln Avenue. Willis is now located in Nashville and recently released the quirky and engaging five-song EP Get It.

Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen will perform together at the Old Town School Of Folk Music next Friday April 8, and Marshall Crenshaw and The Bottle Rockets will be at the same venue on Saturday.

Stones cover band The Rolling Clones will be performing next Friday, April 8 at 27 Live in Evanston. Local alt rock band Whitewolfsonicprincess will be the opening act.

Rock critic Bill Wyman has an extensive cover story about the 1993 Chicago rock scene for the April 1-15 edition of the free paper New City. Back then, he wrote a column called Hitsville in the Chicago Reader, and took some flak for a Top 10 Albums of the year list he put together. Producer Steve Albini, in particular, took exception to Wyman’s choices of Liz Phair and Urge Overkill. It’s interesting to see Wyman’s current reflections on that past conflict, and the article is augmented with vintage promo photos and posters.

The limited-edition (only 500 copies) Terry Reid + The Jigsaw Seen is now exclusively available for $10 through The Jigsaw Seen’s Big Cartel Shop. The two-song CD features a cover of Donovan’s “Young Girl Blues” and Reid’s own “Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace/May Fly” and was recorded live in 1997. Each CD ordered by April 30 will include a Terry Reid + The Jigsaw Seen LIVE button/badge. All profits from the CD will go to the UK-based The Pete Quaife Foundation, which supplies iPads to children on dialysis.

Graham Nash has a European tour lined up for this spring that will bring him to venues in Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Oslo, and other cities. He’ll be in Chicago on May 11 and 12 for shows at City Winery. Nash’s solo album This Path Tonight is due out in a couple weeks.